Pujo Parikrama – Kolkata (North)

God always shows us the way. But it’s finding the way to Her, where we get stuck. Or so I realized during my attempts to visit the pandals in the northern fringes of the city.

In today’s era, when our mental compass is mostly guided by the blue arrow in Google Maps, it wasn’t a wonder that I found myself lost as Google uncle hasn’t yet started taking the Puja Pandals as landmark locations. Searching on my phone hence wasn’t an option.  Added to it was the fact that most of the roads near the Biggies are closed to traffic, of the vehicular kind that is.

But all said and done, nothing can prevent people like me, from thronging the streets in search of Ma Durga (and some nice D-SLR shots that I can brag about).

So it was 2 AM on my watch, and I was still standing behind a few thousand people, in the narrow lanes leading up to Kumartuli Park.  And here I was, thinking that I was the only wise one out on the streets now, as most would have gone back home after their all day long treks!

Alas! I had again underestimated the undying spirit of the people of my city, that never fails to surprise me: what lay in front was enough to make me want to return to that peaceful sleep back home, from which I had been very rudely aroused from.

But as Tagore has said, “You can’t cross the sea by merely standing and staring at the water”.

So I had to take a plunge and wade my way through (sometimes a little too roughly for my fellow countrymen’s tastes) through the never ending wave of people.

From one pandal to the next, the story repeated itself. But I, a seasoned pandal-hopper, was equal to the task. The result of my efforts? They follow beneath.

(This article is by Archya, the trying-to-be-global bangali babu, who is attempting to carve out a niche for himself in blogosphere, having had mixed results in Medicine Practice. In short, a struggling artist.

For his other articles on Blong…Shong, Click Here )

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Our other articles on Durga Puja

Pujo Parikrama- Kolkata (South)

Puja Parikrama- The Mop Up Rounds

Being a part of The Times of India Heritage Trail – A trip through the Bonedi Bari Pujos of Kolkata